Google Sheets for Project Management | Features and Benefits

Google Sheets for project management is a helpful tool for project managers because it provides different features to analyze and manage project data effectively and efficiently. Furthermore, it will help managers to create project templates depending on the project necessities.

This article will guide you about the Google Sheets feature and its benefits for project management.

What is Google Sheets

Google Sheets (Spreadsheets) is a cloud-based web application offered by Google. Typically, this app is compatible with Microsoft (MS) Excel file formats. Sheets allow users to create and edit files online and collaborate with other users in real-time. So, this application helps team members to share information easily.

Google Sheets offers specific features that are as follows,

Multiple geographically dispersed users collaborate on a spreadsheet at the same time and chat.
Users can upload spreadsheets directly from their mobile or computer devices.
When users work on a spreadsheet, everything saves automatically. On the other hand, they can see other users’ changes when necessary, etc.

Google Sheets is part of the Google Docs editors suite of free web applications that includes Google Docs, Google Slides, Google Forms, and more.

Google Sheets features for project management

Sharing

This features crucial aspects for project management because project managers and project team members can share spreadsheets across them. Furthermore, they can give permission when necessary. Sharing permission includes,

Editing – Editing allows project managers and team members to make direct edits and changes to the spreadsheet.

Commenting – Commenting allows project managers to add comments and make suggestions.

View only – Viewing allows team members to view the file but not edit, comment, or suggest.

As a project manager, once you have shared your spreadsheet with your project team members and given them either commenting or editing permissions, you can collaborate directly in the sheet effectively and efficiently by leaving comments.

On the other hand, you can assign tasks or action items through comments.

Formatting

As a project manager, you can create any list in spreadsheets and simply label each list. For instance,

Type name, date, notes, or other criteria in the header row. After, you can add different list items in each cell underneath the list title.

However, you might prefer a horizontal list depending on the types of items.

Display and hide content

Freezing and formatting the header row is the best way to make the list titles stand out because freezing a header row keeps the row in place when you scroll down the list. Accordingly, you can always see the list titles in the spreadsheet. Furthermore, you can format the headers by changing the font, size, text color, fill color, etc.

Grouping rows and columns allows project managers to expand or collapse categories of data.

This makes your spreadsheet comfortable to read and manage by hiding the grouped data. On the other hand, you can quickly ungroup and show when it is needed.

Organize data

As a project manager, you can organize your data by using the dropdown feature in your spreadsheet. For instance,

One teammate may list their tasks as ‘done’ while another notes it as ‘not started.’ Therefore, by adding a dropdown list, you can ensure the data entered into your Google sheet is exactly what you specify. On the other hand, the dropdown option makes it faster for team members to add data.

Add checkboxes

By using the checkbox feature, project managers can quickly track their project’s tasks or whatever they need to track their project.

Add color coding

Color coding will help project managers to see how their project is progressing. For instance,

As a sociologist in a construction project, you need to find some resources during the initiation phase of your project. So, track your progress status by using color coding as follows,

Done – Red
Not started – Yellow
Pending – Green

Add links

By using this feature, project managers can link to other project documentation or even external websites in their Google Sheets. On the other hand, this provides your project team with centralized, easy access to all relevant information they might need. For instance, project charter, project plan, and more documents.

Visualize data

As a project manager, you must analyze your project data to make decisions or predictions. So, you can use pivot tables, charts, or graphs to analyze your project data effectively and efficiently.

Calculations

Project managers can use functions to quickly calculate sums or averages, generate financial reports, automatically determine start and end dates, and much more.

Google Sheets templates for project management

Project timeline templates

Using Google Sheets, project managers can create project timeline templates to track the entire project life cycle, including initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing.

So, you can include major project activities that need to happen during the project life cycle in your timeline template.

Project tracking templates

A project tracking template helps track your project deliverables, budget, and other information. Furthermore, you can use functions to track project progress offered by Google Sheets.

Gantt chart templates

Project managers can create Gantt chart templates by using Spreadsheet. Gantt chart helps to show the relationships between the many moving parts of the project. Furthermore, it helps manage the project with multiple collaborators.

Event marketing timeline templates

Typically, every project has a lot of marketing or public-facing tasks or activities. So, project managers can create event marketing timeline templates to track social media posts and coordinate content across multiple platforms.